Jesus' Courage.

Photo by: Stanislav Traykov

"I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting."

"Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame."    Isaiah 50:6,7

This is a prophecy of what Jesus would go through for us. The preceding verses explain how Jesus remained calm during this treatment.

The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,

to know the word that sustains the weary.

He wakens me morning by morning,

wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.

The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;

I have not been rebellious,

I have not turned away.

His Father lived in him. As Jesus said to his disciples, "I and the Father are one."

"Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, "Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?"    Matthew 26:67

"Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged." John 19:1

"The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' And they slapped him in the face."   John 19:2

But what does God say to this in verses 8 & 9?

He who vindicates me is near.

Who then will bring charges against me?

Let us face each other!

Who is my accuser?

Let him confront me!

It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.

Who will condemn me?

They will all wear out like a garment;

the moths will eat them up.

What does God tell us to do?

7“Hear me, you who know what is right,

you people who have taken my instruction to heart:

Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals

or be terrified by their insults.

For the moth will eat them up like a garment;

the worm will devour them like wool.

But my righteousness will last forever,

my salvation through all generations.”

Isaiah 51:7,8

Jesus said, "I have set my face like a flint."

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

...therefore have I set my face like a flint: or like "steel" (a); or as an adamant stone, as some (b) render it; hardened against all opposition; resolute and undaunted; constant and unmoved by the words and blows of men; not to be browbeaten, or put out of countenance, by anything they can say or do. He was not dismayed at his enemies who came to apprehend him, though they came to him as a thief, with swords and staves; nor in the high priest's palace, nor in Pilate's hall, in both which places he was roughly used; nor at Satan, and his principalities and powers; nor at death itself, with all its terrors. 

All that Jesus did, we can do through his strength and power for he said, "I in them and you in me--so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."  John 17:23

I Am With You Always.

When his friends were frightened, Jesus said, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."  Matthew 14:27

If we remember Jesus is with us every moment, that thought can give us courage. When we know the God of the universe is loving us, helping us and working for us, then we can take heart and his presence gives us strength.

Just before Jesus was to be crucified, he told his friends he would be leaving them. They felt full of sadness and discouragement. They had been with Jesus day and night for three years; they thought he would become the King of Israel. Now he said he was leaving.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.
But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'
But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart."  John 16:4-6

Jesus was a strong and steady leader to his followers. He always knew the right thing to do and say. I can imagine they felt they would be without a compass and anchor if he went away. But they were wrong; Jesus would be just as close to them after he left.

"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you."  John 16:7

Jesus did leave the world physically, but through the Holy Spirit he is with each one of us every moment. 

As he left for heaven, Jesus said,  "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matt. 28:20  In that promise we can all take courage.

Psalm 44 - Why Have You Left Us?

Psalm 44 by the Sons of Korah - What it means to me.

You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads at us.

I live in disgrace all day long,
and my face is covered with shame
at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
Our hearts had not turned back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals;

you covered us over with deep darkness.  
Verses 13-19

Commentators don't agree on when this Psalm was written. Some say it could have been during the time of Eli the priest. Most agree it is not speaking of the deportation to Babylon. Some say it was during David's reign. They all agree it was written during a time of persecution towards Israel and that God had allowed their enemies to triumph over them.

This Psalm brings up the question of why God allows his children to suffer persecution when they have been following God and not doing any great wrong. Of course, this happened in the early church when there arose persecution, first from the Jews and then by the Roman Empire.

I just read about a woman who was in an F4 tornado. She had been a Christian since she was ten and loved the Lord. During the tornado, her baby was torn from her arms and was killed. She was angry at God at first. She could not understand why this happened to her. But, eventually she accepted what happened and turned to God for comfort which he gave to her.

God has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 We may feel he has left us but that is not true. He is there right beside us always. We may never understand our suffering in this world but will know why it happened later when we are in heaven. Suffering does make us more compassionate. We can then understand those who have suffered and comfort them. Suffering comes to every human being; it only differs when and how. God will give us strength to bear it.

But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage. I am here!"  Matthew 14:27

"Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Matthew 28:20

God's Courage.

Jesus said, 
"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour." John 12:27

Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Now is my soul troubled - Our blessed Lord took upon him our weaknesses, that he might sanctify them to us. As a man he was troubled at the prospect of a violent death. Nature abhors death: God has implanted that abhorrence in nature, that it might become a principle of self preservation; and it is to this that we owe all that prudence and caution by which we avoid danger. When we see Jesus working miracles which demonstrate his omnipotence, we should be led to conclude that he was not man were it not for such passages as these. The reader must ever remember that it was essentially necessary that he should be man; for, without being such, he could hot have died for the sin of the world.

And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour - Και τι ειπω; πατερ, σωσον με εκ της ὡρας ταυτης· which may be paraphrased thus: And why should I say, Father, save me from this hour? when for this cause I am come to this hour. The common version makes our blessed Lord contradict himself here, by not attending to the proper punctuation of the passage, and by translating the particle τι what, instead of why or how. The sense of our Lord's words is this: "When a man feels a fear of a sudden or violent death, it is natural to him to cry out, Father, save me from this death! for he hopes that the glory of God and his welfare may be accomplished some other way, less dreadful to his nature: but why should I say so, seeing for this very purpose, that I might die this violent death for the sins of mankind, I am come into the world, and have almost arrived at the hour of my crucifixion."

I thank God for his and Jesus' courage in going through the crucifixion.

I'm reading the book of Jeremiah and it has been such a help to me the last few weeks. When I read of Jeremiah's life of being a prophet and all he went through to speak the word of God and warn the people it humbles me. The Kings and most of the people wouldn't listen to him, burned his writings and threw him in prison yet Jeremiah kept obeying and living for God.

Once, near the beginning of his ministry he was complaining to God about the prosperity and oppression of the wicked. God spoke strongly to Jeremiah, telling him he must be strong. He said:

"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yahweh rebukes Jeremiah's impatience, showing him by two proverbial sayings, that there were still greater trials of faith in store for him. Prosperous wickedness is after all a mere ordinary trial, a mere "running with the footmen;" he will have to exert far greater powers of endurance.

And if in the land ... - Rather, "and in a land of peace thou art secure; but how wilt thou do amid the pride of Jordan?" if thou canst feel safe only where things are tranquil, what wilt thou do in the hour of danger? The "pride of Jordan" is taken to, mean the luxuriant thickets along its banks, famous as the haunt of lions (compare Jeremiah 49:19; Jeremiah 50:44; Zechariah 11:3). What will the prophet do when he has to tread the tangled maze of a jungle with the lions roaring round him?

If small things disturb our faith - what will we do when worse things befall us? I'm glad I have the example of Jeremiah; I know it will help me throughout my life.